Asylum
by IronicVeghead
Summary: Artemis Crock hasn't worked at Arkham Mental Hospital for very long, but even she can tell that there's something off about the place. Wally West is one of her patients, admitted for delusions of grandeur. But Artemis can't ignore his ravings forever, and when she starts digging into his past she learns that Arkham's deceit is greater than she could ever have imagined. Spitfire.
1. Arkham

**This started as a drabble for Ranty (TheRantDragon) over skype, but I ended up really liking it and things got out of hand, haha. So I'll be posting this in chapters because it ended up being a decent length. I expect I'll post a chapter every other day. **

**I hope you all like it! **

**XXX**

The pills rattled in the cup as she strolled across the linoleum. It was that time of day again. She'd yet to decide if it was her favorite time or the worst time. Ever since her dad had gotten her this job she felt as if she was on edge. And not only because she was working in a freaking insane asylum. Oh. Sorry. _"Mental Hospital"_. Except she didn't think the patients were getting medical care here, so the term hospital didn't really fit. But she'd taken it anyway, she needed money to pay for her college classes, and there was her nearly absentee father with a job offer. One of his _associates_ needed help at Arkham Mental Hospital. She took the job because she needed the money. But she kept in mind that her father and all of his associates were _never_ to be trusted or taken at face value.

There were always whispers in the corners. Locked doors with mechanical whirring behind them. Men in scrubs who carried restraints instead of stethoscopes. It had been three months and Artemis was certain that nothing was as it seemed. But money was money, so she'd kept her mouth shut and doled out medicines like a good little helper.

But it was that time of the day where her resolve to sit back was tested. She could handle the black haired boy in room B13 who raved about clowns and clocks. She could handle the girl in B11 who spent all day in her bathtub. But in room B03 there was a boy whose green eyes and desperate words gnawed at her. And day after day as she brought his drugs, she continued to wonder what was really going on here.

She balanced the cup of pills in her elbow as she pressed the keypad on his door, waiting for the green light and the resounding "click" of multiple thick locks retreating before she shouldered the door open. He was awake, as usual, and grinning widely as his eyes set on her.

"Beautiful! I missed you!" He rejoiced, grinning at her from his desk where he was scribbling chemical equations. Wally West had bright red hair and the greenest eyes Artemis had ever seen. He was also extremely attractive, one of the reasons she'd first given him the time of day, with a sharp jawline and a smattering of freckles over his pale cheeks. His diagnosis was "delusions of grandeur" but Artemis always thought that he was the most reasonable patient she'd met. He scrambled from his desk as she said her hellos, dropping the cup of pills on the scrap pieces of paper before he got to her. He was tall, maybe half a foot taller than her, and the first time she'd met him she'd been tense as he neared, but she'd learned by now. He just wanted to hug her. His arms wrapped around her frame and he squeezed her jubilantly. She returned the hug carefully, although not as enthusiastically. As much as he was tall, the boy was thin, gaunt even. Despite the piles of food that were brought into his room every day, far more than any other patient, he still looked frail. She feared that if she embraced him too tightly he'd break underneath her grasp.

Wally finished his hug and grabbed Artemis's arm, tugging her over to his desk so he could show her what he'd been working on. Artemis didn't indulge her other patients. She didn't take the time to get to know them, or talk to them. But Wally West was a chatterbox with a big smile, easy on the eyes, and who spoke to her like he would a friend. And Artemis didn't have a lot of friends. She'd wondered once what made him see her differently. She'd seen him interact with some of the other assistants, some of the doctors on his bad days when he took a swing, yelled and raved and spit out his pills in a fit of frustration. He had a mean right hook and a glare to be reckoned with. He treated everyone else like they were imprisoners. But he'd always greeted her with a smile. So she'd asked once.

_"Wally," She'd interrupted him explaining the equations used to calculate mach speed. _

_"Yeah, Arty?" He smiled, grabbing a chip from the bag she'd brought him from her own lunch. _

_"How come you're so nice to me? You aren't nice to anyone else," Artemis spoke slowly, worried she might break the strange friendship they seemed to have. _

_Wally seemed to muse on the question for only a moment before his blinding grin returned, "Because you're not like the rest of them. You have a hero's heart. Like me," He finished, as though it explained everything. It didn't, but Artemis didn't press any longer._

"What are you calculating today, Wally?" Artemis smirked, looking over the chicken scratch of equations all over the papers. She picked one up and her eyebrows rose. She recognized this from her biochemistry course at Gotham University. A chemical equation for making the chemical compounds used in particle accelerators.

"I'm going over the stoichiometry involved in how I got my speed," He answered casually, stepping over to grab the cup of pills she'd brought. Other patients got the little mouthful cups of pills. Wally West got a whole slew of big pills and lots of vitamins, you had to use a drinking cup to bring him his medicine.

Artemis just nodded as he mentioned his speed. Despite the reason for him being at the hospital, she tried to avoid talking about it as much as possible. If only because it reminded her why he wasn't sane. He was convinced that he could run at the speed of sound. Although he never showed any physical ability to do so. If it weren't for that, Wally seemed perfectly sane and coherent to her.

In fact, sometimes she snuck in her college homework and he would help her. He loved science, and he seemed to love helping her as much as she loved getting her homework done. She knew he was smart, a genius even for remembering as much as he did without having access to any materials for the year he'd been in the hospital. But the accelerator compounds he'd scribbled. That was strange. Because the particle accelerator had only been invented in April. She remembered because it had been all over the news. But Wally had the science for it scribbled here in his hospital room. And he'd been locked up since June of the year before.

So how did he know these things?

"What did you do before you came here, Wally?" Artemis asked, realizing suddenly that she had no idea. Maybe he had been working on that project? Maybe when he lost his sanity it was how he got stuck on the idea of super speed. The particle accelerator.

"Uh," The redhead sat down, frowning as he concentrated. Oh, right. The drugs they kept to suppress his delusions also floundered a lot of his memories, "I know I was in school, and I had a job. A secret job," His face scrunched up as he tried to dig through his thoughts. Artemis stayed silent, letting him think. "No one could know about my job. But I know that I..." He closed his eyes and hummed, "I helped people,"

Well it wasn't much help, but Wally smiled, pleased that he had remembered, so Artemis smiled back at him because his dumb grins were kind of contagious and adorable.

"Did you do okay on that french test?" He changed the subject.

"Yeah I got an A, no thanks to you," Artemis snorted.

Wally laughed, "No Way! I totally helped!"

"The test was on conjunctions! You only know food!" She pointed out.

"Food is very important," Wally insisted, looking all for the world like he was speaking a psalm. Then he tilted his head, curious, "Did you bring me anything today?"

"Why would I bring you anything. You're a human garbage disposal it doesn't go anywhere," She rolled her eyes.

"Artemissssss" He whined, looking very much like a puppy. What a dork.

"Do you even know how much food I waste on you?" Artemis shot back, reaching into her back pocket and grabbing the protein bar she'd brought him. He grinned and tore into gleefully.

"Do you even know how much homework I've helped you with?" He repeated, speaking around a mouthful of food.

Then her watch beeped. She'd run out of time, she had to get to her other patients or risk the wrath of her boss, Hugo Strange. Wally frowned when he heard the noise as well, he knew what it meant.

"Alright West, you need to take your meds or I can't leave," The blonde sighed.

"I'm totally cool with not taking my meds and you not leaving," He shrugged.

"You know that isn't an option," She responded, growing serious. She'd questioned Hugo about Wally before. Wondering if he was really insane enough to be held at the hospital. She'd nearly lost him as a patient for that, "If I can't get you to take these then I won't be the one bringing them to you anymore. Which means you won't see me at all," Artemis didn't want to voice it, but it would also mean that she wouldn't get to see him either. And she really did enjoy spending time with him.

Wally nodded dejectedly, reaching for the cup with a hesitant hand. Artemis watched silently as he worked through the bunch, swallowing a few at a time until there were none left, "Happy?" He deadpanned. Artemis pursed her lips, feeling awful. She knew he hated taking them, how confused he got. Most of the time his distaste for them were the reason for his outbursts.

"I'm happy that I'll get to come see you tomorrow," She finally told him, gaining a small smile from the redhead. God, he made her such a sap.

Artemis stood, grabbing the empty cup and staring at the particle accelerator equations once more, "Can I take this?" She asked on a whim.

"If I get a goodbye hug," Wally smirked. Artemis rolled her eyes but obliged him. He always got a goodbye hug anyway, even though he didn't always remember it. She suspected their embraces were the only human contact that he got, and it made her all the more willing to let him have it, if only because he seemed to crave it so much.

He held on to the hug longer than she did, but time was running short and Artemis really needed to get to Tula in B11. So she pulled away and carefully folded up the equation to stick in her pocket.

"I'll see you tomorrow Wally," She told him, unlocking the door with the keypad once more. Wally waved and sat back at his desk, a sad smile on his face.

**XXX**

"Artemis did you do this?" Her teacher asked with awe. The blonde shook her head, glad that she'd waited until the end of class to talk to Dr. Corver; the other students had left the lecture hall and in five minutes, new students would start filing in. Mrs. Corver was her biochemistry lecture professor, a kind, brilliant woman. It was her that Artemis had brought Wally's equations to.

"Someone...I know did this," She started, trying to decide how to phrase what Wally was to her. Because 'mental patient' didn't seem like the right way to go.

"This is incredible," Dr. Corver breathed, pulling her glasses down from her head to peer closer at the scribbles, "I mean, I've seen equations like this, but none so elaborate,"

"They're equations for the particle accelerator in Central City, right?" Artemis cut in, reaching out to circle a few choice chemical compounds with her finger. Her professor nodded absently.

"Yes, however…" She dropped off, blinking numerous times as she processed them, "Not, exactly," Her finger was following the letters and numbers, working out their purpose as she read.

"How so?" This had caught Artemis's attention. This is why she'd brought the equations out of the hospital. It was so _strange_ that some boy had conjured up such advanced chemistry without a thought.

"I can't tell, exactly," The professor mused, "But these are more theoretical than factual. The equations used for the particle accelerator were based on reactions between compounds, molecules, and electrical energy provided by the machine," She took one of the pens off of her podium and circle a series of chemical reactions near the bottom right corner of the page, "But _these._ These are theoretical reactions between compounds, molecules, the citric acid cycle, and the neurological impulses of the human body,"

The teacher might have said more, but Artemis froze. She knew enough about chemistry to tell her where it was going. What these equations were saying. But maybe..._No_. She had to be sure.

"So what, theoretically, would this kind of reaction create?" Her words caught in her throat, her mouth dry. This was all too surreal.

Dr. Corver gave a small breath as her eyebrows furrowed, "I suppose this would theoretically create a particle accelerator out of the human body. Speeding up all body processes, possibly, or who knows what else,"

Artemis knew what else. She found herself reaching for the paper, suddenly, inexplicably protective of it. Of Wally. Dr. Corver seemed hesitant to relinquish it and she spoke up as Artemis tucked it away in a pocket once more.

"I would love to meet whoever wrote this," She said wistfully, "To study this a little more,"

"They don't live in town," Artemis shot back quickly, backing up to make her leave.

The woman nodded, noting her hesitation, but then spoke up again, "You know, there's a guest speaker coming to the physics classes next week, maybe he could tell you more about this. I think he's worked a little on the particle accelerator,"

That got Artemis to stop, halfway to the door.

"His name is Adam Strange. He specializes in Zeta Beam research but he might be of some help," She smiled. _This_ is why she liked this teacher, always being helpful.

"Thank you, Dr. Corver," The blonde told her, sincere.

This was proof, after all, that maybe Wally West wasn't as insane as she'd been told.

**XXX**

"Wally, how did you get your super speed?" Artemis asked him. It had been three days since her talk with Dr. Corver and she couldn't get it out of her head. Wally was currently making an origami fortune teller for them to play with since she had managed to take her lunch break in his room. Although her boss was probably unaware of the fact. Wally made another careful fold in the paper before he answered.

"I blew myself up," He told her nonchalantly.

Artemis almost gagged on her apple slice, "What?"

"The chemical reaction that gave me my powers kind of, well, supercharged me. But I couldn't drink the chemicals or inject them or anything. The solutions were largely harmless on their own, if only a bit volatile. It was only when they reacted explosively that the correct charges and ions were created. A bolt of lightning would have done it nicely, but I didn't have one handy," He shrugged, "So I just let them blow up and...Tada!" He grinned, revealing the finished fortune teller as he finished the story.

It was ridiculous. Ridiculous theoretical science. But Wally had a way of explaining it that made it sound just so...feasible. She had to remind herself that while the science might be correct, she'd yet to see any superpowers. But while it was still insane for him to _think_ that he had super speed, it wasn't nearly as crazy for him to think that if he'd been working on experiments to create it.

"Okay pick a weapon," Wally told her, scooting his chair closer and holding out the fortune teller in his hands. Artemis smirked but leaned towards him to play. There were four choices. Sword, bow and arrow, hammer, and gun.

"Bow and arrow," Artemis decided, pointing to the leaf of paper. Wally hummed and moved the flaps of the fortune teller a number of times, Artemis didn't bother counting. Finally he landed in one position and paused to grab a large mouthful of sandwich. The blonde rolled her eyes and ate another apple slice.

"Okay," He mumbled, his mouth still full of sandwich, "Pick again,"

There were two choices, Einstein and Darwin.

"Darwin," She snorted. Of course, he had to fit science into this thing somehow.

"Good choice," He commended, taking his hands out to carefully open the flap, "And your fortune is…" Wally paused with a grin, "You are one of a kind!"

Artemis smiled, feeling a flush come to her cheeks. She covered it up by slugging the redhead in the bicep, "That's not a fortune, you dork!"

"If you don't appreciate my fortune telling than I won't tell you your fortune anymore!" Wally threatened with a laugh.

"You haven't told a fortune at all yet!" Artemis defened. Wally threw his hands up in mock frustration. She was still laughing when her watch went off again, the response was instant. Wally's face fell, "I've got to go, Wall-man," Artemis sighed, collecting her trash from her lunch and his off of the desk.

"I'll see you tomorrow, right?" He questioned hopefully.

"No, I'm not scheduled tomorrow. But I'll be back the day after that, alright?" The blonde gave him a smile and he managed to give her a half-hearted one in return.

"Yeah, okay," He sighed, standing up to give her a bone-crushing hug.

"Don't give them any trouble while I'm gone, alright?" She joked, returning his hug and wishing that she couldn't feel his bones standing out so easily under his skin.

"Aw, what's the fun in that?"

**XXX**

It had been three days since she'd been at work. And Artemis was starting to feel a bit antsy, a bit worried. She'd told Wally that she would be there the day before, but her Mother had needed help with her ratchety dishwasher, so she'd called in sick to go assist her. The blonde shifted her ID card in hand as she clocked in, wondering who she would have to deal with first.

"Artemis!" It was Harley, one of the psychologists. She was rushing towards her and she looked rather flustered, "Finally you're here! We need your help in B wing!"

Artemis's heart dropped but she nodded and followed the woman without complaint. It was a short run, most of her patients were in B wing so she always came into the building through the closest entrance, "Who is it?" She asked, a little breathless from the sudden sprint.

"It's West. B03. He's having a fit, escaped into the hallway," Harley explained curtly.

_Oh God_. Not Wally.

The blonde could hear the commotion as they drew closer, a lot of scuffling and yelling.

"What did you do to her!?" Wally's voice carried down the hall, "WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

Finally they turned the corner and Artemis could see the situation. There were probably a dozen people in the hallway outside of Wally's room, all surrounding the redhead, trying to grab him. A few had syringe pens, likely filled with a sedative. One man had a grip on Wally's arms but the redhead doubled over and flipped him like he was nothing. When another reached out Wally ducked, grabbing the man's arm in two places and tossing him over his shoulder without a blink. His face was red with rage and his hair pushed back and wild, he was far from the man she was used to talking to every afternoon. But somehow it seemed natural to him, the way he was fighting off a slew of men without thinking twice, his movements precise and practiced.

"She's here!" Harley called out, catching the attention of a few of the orderlies trying to subdue Wally, "Artemis is here!"

Her? Wally was yelling for _her_? Artemis almost stumbled as she made the last stretch towards the redhead. Well if they wanted her help, Artemis was perfectly fine with stopping the attempted beatdown on Wally.

"Wally!" Artemis called out, skidding to a stop and running into a nurse on the edge of the fray. She pulled on the man's sleeve and tried to step past him.

She could see Wally falter in his defense, following her voice, searching for her. It gave the others enough time, one grabbing Wally around his shoulders while another stepped up and emptied the syringe into his bicep. Artemis gave up being polite and shoved people out of her way as she pushed to him, Wally looked terrified, his eyes wide his limbs shaking. He registered the syringe being pulled out of his arm and he jerked away from it, trying to rub at the spot.

"Wally!" He turned to her voice again, his face filling with relief as he spotted her. Artemis stepped up and reached for him, for his shoulders, wanting to calm him, he grasped her forearms in response, searching her face with strained features, "It's me, Wally. Calm down," She spoke gently, the orderlies still buzzing about around them.

"You're okay?" He asked, his voice hoarse. Who knew how long he'd been yelling. Artemis nodded, reassuring him as she watched his eyes begin to cloud from the sedative, he blinked it away, "You weren't here, you weren't-" Wally mumbled.

"I know, but I'm here. I'm fine. Everything's okay," Short sentences, keeping it simple. His rage was calming, she knew, but his muscles were still tense, his attention sharp.

"It's not okay," Wally reiterated, his green eyes drilling into her, "You can't trust them. I'm not supposed to be here," His speech was fast, and growing faster, it almost felt like his body was humming with energy wanting to burst from his skin, "You can't trust them. Youcan'ttrustthem. Youcan'ttrustthemyoucan'ttrustthemyoucan-"

The drugs were starting to take effect and Artemis kept hold of him as he swayed on his feet, his eyes glassy, still trying to watch her, still trying to tell her. Two male nurses caught him as he finally fell, his body losing the battle with sedatives.

His lips still moving as he lost unconsciousness.

"Artemis" Harley caught the blonde out of her stupor with her voice and a hand on her shoulder, startling from the touch.

Artemis swallowed a few times, her mouth dry as she watched the men carry Wally back into his room, the door closing behind them, "What happened?" Her words felt weak.

"Let's talk in my office," Harley offered, drawing Artemis away and guiding her down towards the woman's room. Artemis had been there before a few times when Harley wanted updates on some of the patients. It felt small with all of the decoration, the whole office filled with circus paraphernalia. Honestly it kind of creeped Artemis out but she felt so distracted it didn't even register as she stood numbly around the decor.

Artemis was gently pushed into a bright red cushy chair before Harley took a seat behind her desk, "What happened?" The blonde tried again.

"The assistant who took your shift yesterday wasn't familiar with the patient," Harley spoke with a clinical tone.

_Wally_. Artemis wanted to correct her. His name was Wally.

"They were unaware of his distaste for his medication and he was able to trick them into thinking that he had taken them, when in reality he had not," She continued, her voice impassive, "The delusions returned. This time they took the form of some sort of hero. He believed that we had harmed you and that he needed to save you,"

Harley was silent for a moment and Artemis let it sink in. It made sense, in a way, he didn't get his medications and he had a delusion of grandeur, like he always does. But his words were still ringing in her ears.

"_You can't trust them"_

"Artemis, do you know _why_ he would have such a fixation on you?" Harley's lips were pursed and Artemis abruptly felt on the defensive. This wasn't just a debrief, this was an interrogation. If Artemis wanted to continue to have Wally as her patient, she needed to downplay their relationship. It wasn't safe for them to have the person who brought him his meds be his friend, it was too risky that he could convince her that he didn't need to take them.

"I am a constant part of his routine," She started confidently, her words chosen carefully. She tried to keep eye contact, "Sometimes I will bring him more paper or pencils if he runs out. I believe he thinks I am his friend," The words felt like acid in her mouth. Like a betrayal. Wally _was_ her friend. Even if it was unconventional, "I had told him that I was scheduled to work yesterday, but my sudden disappearance, in line with the loss of his medications likely had something to do with his choice of fixation,"

There. Clinical, detached, and logical. Artemis held her breath that it would take.

Harley nodded and seemed to accept the reasoning, "He seems to trust you, for whatever reason," She frowned and Artemis found it odd. Wasn't a patient's trust a good thing to have? "We can use that to make sure he keeps up with his medications and to reduce his outbursts,"

Artemis nodded obediently.

Harley checked her watch, "He will likely wake from the sedatives after the next hour. Make your rounds quickly to your other patients first and then please visit him afterwards. Keep him pacified,"

Her orders were strict and clear, so Artemis nodded with a "Yes, Ma'am," before leaving the office and taking a breath of relief.

For now, at least. She could be the buffer between Wally and the higher ups. She could be some sort of ally to him and keep him out of trouble. She could try to protect him.

And maybe when he woke up in an hour she could convince him to protect himself.

**XXX**

Artemis was sitting next to Wally's bed, watching him with a scowl. She wished that she didn't have so many questions. About him. About this hospital. She glared at the empty cup on his nightstand. The nurses had evidently given him his pills while he was unconscious. It wasn't the safest route, but they were likely desperate to keep him under control.

What had she gotten herself into?

"Nggh…" Wally moaned, scrunching his eyes up as he came to. He tossed a bit in his bed, still struggling with consciousness.

"Wally, wake up Wally," Artemis coaxed. His features eased and he finally opened his eyes.

"-Mis," It was a grumbled statement, but Artemis still nodded.

"Hey there knucklehead. You've had quite the afternoon," She tried to smile but it came out as more of a grimace.

Wally sat up with a huff, rubbing his arm where he'd been given the sedatives, "Yeah I, I kind of remember," He frowned, thinking, "Wait. You were hurt?" Wally was suddenly wide awake, looking the blonde over, searching her for injuries.

"No! No I'm fine, Wally," She gave him a small smile, "You got into a bit of an...altercation with the staff. You didn't take your medicine yesterday,"

That seemed to catch his full attention, his eyes sharp like they'd been earlier. The medicine must not have come to full effect yet, "I don't want to take my medicine," He declared forcefully, "It makes my head foggy and I don't trust them," Wally growled the last statement and Artemis felt her heart clench with the familiar phrase.

"Who is them? Who don't you trust?" She pressed. She was past the point of stepping into the flames, so she figured she might as well burn for a while.

"Them!" Wally rose his voice, "Everyone here! I'm not a patient I'm a prisoner! _I don't belong here, Artemis!"_ He was leaning forward, looking outraged, but Artemis had no fear that he would lash out at her. Though she couldn't help but wonder why.

"Why do you trust me?" She asked simply, although the truth of the question dug deeper. With her likely criminal father, and a checkered past of her own, Artemis wasn't used to trust. She didn't understand how this paranoid boy could possibly feel as though he could place his faith in her.

"I told you before, you have a hero's heart," Wally spoke, certain of himself, "You can see what's going on here, I can tell. This isn't a hospital, Beautiful,"

Artemis opened her mouth to respond, how could it _not_ be a hospital? She'd worked here for months, she would know if it weren't.

"Artemis if this is a hospital then why isn't anyone getting better?"

**XXX**

**Dun dun duuun! **

**And before anyone mentions it, yes I am VERY aware that as just hired help Artemis wouldn't legally be able to bring a patient their meds. You have to have at least a registered nursing license for that, even CNA's can't deal with medications. But the story wouldn't work with it any other way, so it had to be this way.**

**I'll post the next chapter (what day is it today? Friday?) on Sunday. **

**Please leave a review and let me know what you think!**

**_Love,_ Veg**


	2. Research

**Here we go! Chapter two! Thank you all SO MUCH for all the wonderful reviews! I hope you all like this chapter as much as you enjoyed the first one!**

**XXX**

The lecture was almost finished. It was past the two hour mark and Dr. Strange seemed to be reviewing the more important points on his lecture. Artemis had barely managed not to fall asleep, she was thankful that she'd sat at the back of the lecture hall where no one noticed her dozing off. Yes, she liked science. But she had absolutely no knowledge of zeta beam technology and this advanced lecture had gone way over her head.

Artemis was twirling Wally's little piece of folded paper around on her desk when the clapping started. Luckily the question and answer portion had come before his summary, so most of the people wanting to come and talk to him had slimmed down to about a dozen. The blonde rose from her seat after most of the lecture hall had filed out and walked down the stairs to the open stage and podium. Adam Strange had left the podium and was talking to the first student in line, so Artemis pulled to the back of the line and waited.

She wasn't quite sure what she was expecting to find from all this. From asking her teacher, to searching out this scientist. There wasn't a tangible purpose. But maybe there would be some peace of mind. Maybe she would be able to tell Wally that a scientist had validated his scribbles. If she dared, for it might make him more volatile with the staff again. All in all Artemis supposed she really just wanted to prove that Wally wasn't as crazy as everyone told her. That sure, even if he had some delusions, the guy wasn't totally lost. Maybe if she proved that he could even get out of Arkham Mental Hospital.

However her gut told her that was a blatant lie. The more she'd turned the idea of Wally's theoretical science over in her head, the more she convinced herself that the Arkham staff wouldn't care.

"_Artemis if this is a hospital then why isn't anyone getting better?"_

She was starting to grow more and more worried that there really wasn't ever going to be a way out for these patients. For Wally. Day after day they were drugged and subdued. But nothing ever got any better for them. They never got closer to leaving. In fact, Artemis hadn't _ever_ had one of her patients discharged.

"Miss?" Dr. Strange cut Artemis out of her thoughts. She'd made it to the front of the line. They were the only ones left besides a few lingering professors chatting to the side of the hall.

"Hi," Artemis started lamely, rubbing the folded paper in between her fingers, "I, uh, I have something for you to look at," She wasn't quite sure where to start, so she just held out her hand with the paper. But Dr. Strange was pleasant and accommodating, seeming none put off as he unfolded Wally's paper to peer at it. His pleasant features shifted immediately as he looked it over, but unlike the awe that spread over Dr. Corver's, he looked as if he'd seen a ghost.

"Did you-?" He managed to get out.

"No!- No," Artemis threw up a hand. She did_ not_ want to take credit for the face this guy was making, "Someone...I know did,"

"Who?" Dr. Strange asked, looking gravely serious. Artemis was taken aback by his sudden change in demeanor, and she didn't want to answer that question just yet.

So she changed the subject instead.

"When I showed these to my teacher she said they were theoretical equations involving turning the human body into a self-sustaining particle accelerator," Artemis told him, reaching out to pull the paper up into view again, though Dr. Strange wasn't letting it go.

He gave her a frown but indulged her, "I've seen these kind of theoretical equations before,"

"You have?" She blurted out. Dr. Strange nodded, looking over the paper carefully.

"Yes, but only from one person. Dr. Barry Allen," Strange told her with a tight face, "He was one of the head scientists working on the particle accelerator at Central City Labs,"

Oh, now Artemis understood. Adam Strange probably thought she had stolen these equations from him. They were probably worth a lot of money if they were so important. Well, now she had a name, a clue to Wally's past. She wouldn't need these any longer.

"Are you friends with Dr. Allen?" Artemis asked, hoping to keep her tone friendly.

"I am," His voice was measured.

"Look, I just found these lying around. I wanted to know what they were. Maybe they belong to Dr. Allen or something. So can you get these back to him?" Artemis asked nicely, hoping to sound like a dumb little college girl.

Adam Strange didn't seem convinced in the slightest, but he frowned and nodded, convinced to oblige so long as the equations stayed in safe hands.

"Thank you, Dr. Strange," Artemis smiled, leaving him no chance to respond as she walked away as fast as she reasonably could without looking too eager.

She'd got what she needed. A name. Dr. Barry Allen. If she was lucky, Dr. Allen was someone that Wally had contact with, someone who would be able to validate her redhead's equations.

It only took her five minutes to dash to the library across campus. It took a slightly longer time to find an open computer, but eventually she managed to out-glare a freshmen and stole a desktop in one of the study rooms.

Google had always been, and would always be, her friend.

"Barry Allen," The blonde mumbled to herself as she typed in the name. There were over three million results, but the ones at the very top were what she was looking for.

The first few were articles on the particle accelerator in Central City, talking about how important and sciency and interesting it was. Nothing helpful, although intriguing.

But then she found a Wikipedia article on Dr. Bartholomew Henry (Barry) Allen. There was a nice picture of a smiling blond man in lab coat, his birthday, his degrees, his awards and achievements.

And there, in the middle of the page, was a paragraph titled "Wallace (Wally) West".

Artemis felt as though the world had stopped. She'd never even _considered_ looking up Wally himself. She never thought she would find anything on _him_. But there he was, with his own little paragraph on Wikipedia, complete with a picture of a well-feed, smiling, redheaded young man in a suit, holding a crystal award and shaking hands with an old man on a stage. She had to read the first few sentences a couple of times before she managed to keep reading, finding herself reading too fast and too eagerly to even take anything in.

"_Wallace (Wally) Rudolph West, born November 11, 1994, is the nephew of Dr. Barry Allen. Gifted from a young age, West excelled in school sciences. Earning blue ribbons in science fairs and eventually earning the Gordon E. Moore Award his senior year of high school at Central City High School. Upon graduation West attended Stanford University, double majoring in physics and Chemistry. _

_On June 20th, 2013 Wally West disappeared from his Palo Alto apartment, leaving no clues as to his whereabouts. He has been presumed missing, possibly kidnapped, by the police as of August 2013. No leads were ever found,"_

Oh God.

Artemis thought she was going to throw up.

No she was _definitely _going to throw up.

The blonde left the computer and ran to the bathroom as fast as she could, bursting through the door and finding an open stall before dropping to her knees and losing her lunch. Tears sprang to her eyes out of frustration and when she had nothing left to upheave she sat back, leaning against the stall wall and staring at the graffiti on the wall.

_Kidnapped. _

Wally West had been kidnapped.

Artemis supposed there could very possibly be some reasonable explanation. Like him hitting his head and losing his memories and his mind.

But Artemis knew that wasn't true. This whole time she'd been helping them keep him hostage.

And he knew, somehow even in his drugged state he _knew_. And he kept trying to tell her.

"_You can't trust them"_

_I'm not a patient I'm a prisoner! I don't belong here, Artemis!"_

Oh God.

What was she going to do?

**XXX**

The plan had to be perfect.

Artemis spent the better part of that evening writing out ideas for how to get Wally out of Arkham. She'd first thought of calling the police, but then threw that idea out quickly. Arkham was a certified establishment, so they'd have to have a least some of the police force under their payroll or they'd have never gotten away with what they were doing anyway. So she couldn't trust the law. Artemis had to do this herself.

Of course, it wouldn't end with just Wally. No, Arkham wasn't to be trusted, if one of their patients just _happened_ to be a missing person who_ knew_ where the other patients had come from. Arkham had to be taken down, but Artemis couldn't do that by herself. The police wouldn't believe some college girl raving about a corrupt mental hospital, especially if some of them were involved in the scheme. Even if they did there would be too much noise, the patients would be in danger from the time that she brought their legality into question to when the police made their move. Wally would be able to convince them, though. A missing person with a story was _much_ more believable, they wouldn't be able to discredit him without causing a fuss. With Wally, Artemis would have proof of their treachery for the police to move on.

Yes, she needed to get Wally out first. Artemis supposed that she could pick a different patient to sneak out, Tula was much more complacent and under less security, but she couldn't bear the thought of Wally being locked up any longer. Consider it bias, but he was one of her closest friends at this point and she _refused_ to chance losing him. After he was out of the way, she wasn't afraid to call the dogs on Arkham.

So she started from the beginning. Wally was locked in a room in a secure facility, to get him out Artemis would need the time to do so, and the ability to walk out with him without causing a ruckus. The medicine would have to stop, Wally had to be a sharp as possible to pull this off. He needed a clear head. Thusly, Artemis scheduled herself to work every day the next week, ensuring that she would be the one to 'give' him his meds.

Glasses, foundation, and a wig were the easiest part of the plan. A wig to cover his bright red hair, foundation to cover his numerous freckles, and glasses to help hide his face. Artemis knew it would be easy to steal some orderly scrubs from the laundry room at Arkham. Technically, Wally would need a badge to get past security at the front door, but so long as they acted casual and there happened to be a rogue Jason Todd _somehow_ out of his room at the right time, the guards would be plenty occupied for them to walk out unnoticed.

A few nights later, with her props stored in a box under the bed, Artemis found herself staring at her savings account and wondering how the hell she was going to pull this off.

Arkham knew who she was. They knew that she and Wally had _some_ sort of relationship. And when Wally _and_ her both disappeared in the same afternoon, it wouldn't take anyone long to figure out what happened.

Her apartment wasn't safe after that. Arkham had the address on record for her employment. If anyone decided to hunt her down they wouldn't have to look far.

"And if these people managed to kidnap Wally from across the country and hold him for nearly a _year_ without a problem, I wouldn't have a chance of fighting them off either," Artemis sighed. She had experience with fighting. Martial arts, defense classes and the like were her childhood. Soccer or volleyball were apparently useless talents in her fathers eyes. However the blonde had no idea who or how many people would come looking for Wally. So it was better not to put it to the test.

And thus the newest problem was arisen. Artemis had to keep herself and Wally hidden until she could figure out what to do with him. Until she could finally get trustworthy help and take Arkham down they were targets.

But Artemis had no funds saved up for making an escape off the grid. No money to spend on motels or gas for a drive all the way to Central City.

_Central City._ That was a thought.

Barry Allen had money, he had plenty from his fancy successful science projects. Artemis knew because the man had already spent thousands on private investigators and police investigations looking for Wally. A couple of news articles had told her that much.

Artemis didn't need to get Wally to Barry Allen. She just needed to get Barry Allen to come to Wally. But he wouldn't just believe the word of some girl with a crazy theory. She would need to get word to him from Wally himself.

**XXX**

"Hey Wally," Artemis almost choked as she entered Wally's room. It was getting harder every day. Seeing him and knowing that he was trapped, watching her coworkers and not knowing who to trust.

She realized why she'd gotten the job at this point, her father must have told them that she could be _discrete_ about their illegal activities. Apparently her father hadn't yet learned that she didn't want anything to do with his favorite pastimes. Then again, she was going far past _anything_ with her plan to destroy the whole facility.

The blonde wondered if there were any innocent employees in the whole hospital. If there were any actual patients, or just prisoners.

"Artemis!" Wally beamed, leaping up from where he'd been sitting on his bed to wrap his arms around her. She wanted to stuff her face into his chest and just give in, to let him be his cheery self and make everything better. Even with his thin, bony frame, his affectionate hugs were one of her favorites parts of the day. If he wasn't her patient, if he wasn't insane, maybe she could indulge herself with him.

But that couldn't happen. Not while he was still in Arkham, not while he was depending on her.

"I brought you something today, firehead," She smiled, sitting down at his desk reach under her shirt and grab the newspaper she'd tucked into the elastic of her scrubs. Wally's face grew heated at the slip of skin she'd exposed and promptly turned his head to give her privacy. Artemis almost laughed, it was too sweet, but she was hardly undressing, "Here,"

Wally frowned as he took the newspaper, looking over it curiously before he took in a sharp breath, "I'm not supposed to have this," His emerald eyes shifted to the door in wariness before a smile finally spread across his features and he flipped through the pages, heading straight for the comics section.

Artemis rolled her eyes but let him laugh over the comics until he'd gotten through all of them, even letting him shove the paper in his face when he'd found a particularly amusing one.

"How come you brought me this?" He asked, turning through the paper until he found an article that seemed to catch his interest.

"Things are going to change, Wally. This is the first step," She explained, being vague on purpose. It was day one of her week-long daily shifts, the first day she would withhold his medicine. Once his mind's full capacity was back she would explain everything. As it was, Wally on drugs was a bit more simple minded, and she didn't want him blabbering anything important to any other orderlies.

While the redhead was still mulling over the newspaper, Artemis got out her phone and set up it's camera.

"Okay, Wally. I want you to hold up the newspaper's front page for me and smile," She prompted with a smile of her own and Wally had no qualms with the order. He held the newspaper up to his chest and gave her an ear splitting grin.

One week until his escape was going to be far too long.

"Hey, Beautiful," Wally spoke up, searching through the pages again, "Where's the science section?" He was pouting and Artemis rolled her eyes.

"I didn't bring it," She deadpanned.

"Why?!" He whined, his shoulders drooping. Artemis wondered if he would still be this animated off of his medications.

She kind of hoped so. Deep, deep down.

"Because I knew I'd never get the paper back," She laughed, "I can't leave that here with you, someone might find it,"

"You're no fun," Wally declared.

"Oh, really? You're gonna go that direction?" Artemis smirked, reaching into her back pocket, "I guess you can't have this protein bar then, because _obviously_ only someone _fun_ would bring one of those,"

The protein bar was out of her hand before she could even blink, the smile back on Wally's face just as fast, "Okay, you're right. I lied. You're the most fun person _ever_ Artemis," He grinned, digging into the bar with vigor. Artemis just laughed, taking the newspaper back while he was occupied with his munching and tucking it away under her shirt.

She was almost out of time for their daily visit, deciding to shorten them from her usual stays. There was no way she was going to call attention to him and possibly ruin her plan. So the visits would have to be of normal length. Meaning it was time for him to take his medicine, but Artemis had a change of plans.

Wally finished off the protein bar with a satisfied sigh, leaning back with a content smile. A smile which disappeared as soon as the sound of rattling pills filled the room, "Artemis," He started to plead.

Artemis didn't say anything but continued to dig through the cup full of pills, picking out specific pills and setting them on Wally's desk. This caught his attention and he scooted closer to the blonde bumping their legs together as his chair settled next to hers.

"What are you doing?" He questioned.

"I'm picking and choosing," Artemis said, finally spilling a large handful of pills onto a separate section to scrutinize them, "Okay, done," She declared with a smirk, taking the bigger pile in her grip and dropping them into the pocket of the shorts she'd worn under her scrubs.

"Done doing _what_?" His eyes followed her hands as she nudged the smaller pile of rather large pills into her hand.

"Today you are going to only take these. I'm going to do this every day, but you can't tell _anyone_. Do you understand?" Artemis took his hand and spilled the large pills into his palm. Wally nodded mutely, "I want you to _promise_ me that you won't tell anyone,"

"I won't tell anyone, Artemis," He assured her, his eyes meeting her sharp grey orbs seriously.

"Good," She let out a deep breath, "Those are your vitamins, you need those. The rest I'll take with me, no one will know that you haven't taken them. When your head starts to clear you have to stay calm, okay?" Artemis kept his gaze, it was vital that he cooperated or everything would fall apart. Wally was watching her reverently, nodding at her words, "No matter what you remember to have to stay calm. No outbursts,"

Artemis went silent, waiting for anything Wally had to say. He seemed a bit lost, but he also seemed to understand how serious she was. Luckily, drugged or not, Wally didn't like the medications, so he was easy to comply with the idea of not taking them.

When Wally's features finally settled from one of hesitant confusion, he only had one word.

"Why?"

Oh, where could she _start_?

Why was she risking a steady job to take down a criminal establishment? Why had she started a friendship with someone she'd believed to be honestly insane? Why was she going to risk possibly her life to rescue this one, solitary person before anyone else? Why couldn't she just leave anything alone?

There were too many possibilities. Too many questions. But in the end there was only one answer.

She was Artemis, and she couldn't sit back and watch these people suffer. Watch _Wally _suffer.

Wally's question hung in the air while Artemis was striving for a proper worded response. But he seemed to understand that there wasn't going to be an answer, and moved on to the next foreseeable problem.

"I always lash out when I'm not medicated," He pointed out. Artemis wished she could explain that he lashed out because when his head cleared he remembered that he was a kidnapping victim. But that seemed a bit much to drop on him.

"You'll have to try. If you have an outburst they might take me away from you," It was the truth, the core of the problem that could occur. If Artemis didn't have access to Wally, she couldn't get him out.

Her words seemed to have had the desired effect. Wally looked truly upset by the prospect.

"You can't trust them," He parroted.

"Which is why they can't have any reason to suspect I might be helping you," Artemis nodded.

"They'll hurt you, Artemis. You can't trust them!," Wally's voice was growing higher in pitch and volume and Artemis feared he would attract attention from outside the room.

"Shhh…" The blonde leaned over and placed her hands on his thin shoulders, "Shh, Wally," He quieted, taking deep breaths and dropping forward to press their foreheads together, his eyes closing. Artemis was surprised by the action, but let him continue, reaching a hand up to pat his hair and calm him.

"You can't trust them," Wally whispered. The only thing his mind had held onto under the weight of the drugs, the only truth he could remember.

"_I don't,"_

**XXX**

Another night, another google search. Artemis had looked all over but she'd yet to find somewhere that she could take Wally and herself after she'd gotten him out of Arkham. She was running out of time. It would only be a few days before the plan would be put into action.

"Maybe I'm not looking in the right parts of town…" The blonde mused. Gotham was a big city, and there were plenty of undesirable, shady sections of the city that would house motels on the cheap. Eventually Artemis started making phone calls. Anywhere would do, honestly.

Most of the motels that she'd found so far were far too expensive, but they were also far too nice. She wasn't looking for a nice place to rest. She was looking for an off the grid place to regroup.

Finally, she found a motel that was perfect. There was no internet access, no website about it. The only reason she'd found it was a bad review on a Gotham tourist site. It was unknown, somewhere Wally's kidnappers couldn't trace her to. A quick call to "Sweet Haven Motel," informed her that she could get a room for only fifty dollars, and they always had openings. Good, she didn't want to book a room, that would leave a trail.

Google earth had an image of the address, the building was dilapidated, the roads shody, the sign ridiculously cheesy in neon lights, and that was probably a prostitute on the corner.

Horrible and perfect. Artemis had enough money to spare that she could stay with Wally there for a few days if they really needed to. She hoped that they didn't need to though. Once Wally escaped Artemis wanted to get the police on Arkham as fast as she could, she didn't want them to have the chance to move any of their other patients to hidden locations.

With the housing finally settled, Artemis realized that she'd still left one loose string.

Her mother.

Paula Crock lived on the far end of Gotham, in the run-down apartment that Artemis had grown up in. If any Arkham scoundrels were looking for Artemis and Wally, it wouldn't be difficult to find out where Paula lived. That put her at risk. Paula was in a wheelchair from an accident when Artemis was young, from something criminal was as far as Artemis knew. But the woman could take care of herself, far more capable in a fight handicapped that most average people were _with _the use of their legs.

The couple of burglars who'd broken in the apartment over the years were proof of that. Gotham wasn't a safe city, but breaking into the Crock apartment would guarantee a trip to the hospital if Paula had anything to say about it.

But Artemis couldn't just leave her defenseless, no matter how capable she was. So she gave her a call.

"Artemis?" Paula's voice was soft and pleasant when she picked up the phone.

"Hey Mom," The blonde started, trying to sound casual.

It didn't work. Even over the phone it_ never _worked with her mother.

"What's going on, Artemis?" Her voice had switched from sweet to her motherly demanding tone.

"Uh, just some hiccups at the job Dad got me," As much as she'd like to explain everything, Paula would likely call the cops if she knew the whole story. But mentioning Lawrence always did a good job of explaining that some gray area crap was going down.

"I see," Paula sighed, "What are you planning and why are you involving me?" Straight to the point, her mother was impossible to fool.

"Well, the mental hospital isn't as...uh...on the narrow as I'd assumed," Tiptoeing around a subject was never Artemis's strong point.

"Nothing your Father is involved in ever is, Dear," She pointed out, and Artemis had to admit that _was_ poor foresight on her part, to be sure. However she never would have guessed that Arkham would be on the level of evil that it was.

"I'm gonna set things right, but I might piss off some people while I do it," Artemis explained, "So I just wanted to let you know…"

"Batten down the hatches?" Paula supplied with a small laugh.

"Yeah," Artemis gave a snort, this _probably_ shouldn't have been as normal for them as it was, "Essentially, yeah,"

"I can do that, so long as you take care of yourself Honey," The motherly tone made Artemis smile.

"I will, I always do, Mom," She assured her, "And the plan is for me to cause the upheaval on Thursday or Friday. Hopefully Thursday, if I can manage it. I'll let you know when everything settles down, though, Okay?"

"Alright, I'll be careful. You'll let me know that you're safe?" Paula pressed.

"I will, you let me know too," Artemis ran a hand through her bangs, what a mess this was all turning into.

"Alright, Dear. I love you,"

"Thanks, and I love you too, Mom"

What the hell was she even doing?

**XXX**

**I'll post the next chapter Tuesday! Please review and let me know what you think! 3**

**_Love,_ Veg**


	3. Taking Action

**I WAS HAVING INTERNET TROUBLES I WAS SO WORRIED I WOULDN'T GET TO POST THIS TODAY! But I got it figured out for now at least and I'm racing to get this up before I'm late to work! **

**Thank you for all of your lovely reviews! I really appreciate them! Now on with the story!**

**XXX**

Artemis walked down the hallway of Arkham with stiff steps. She could barely look her coworkers in the eye any longer. All she could think about was whether or not they knew they were tending to prisoners. She tried to keep to herself so that no one would notice her sudden skittishness, luckily she'd never been much of a socializer and her actions went undetected.

Just a few more days at most. A few more and then it would all be over.

The door clicked open and Artemis had scarcely gotten into Wally's room before he had grabbed her. Her instincts told her to fight back, but she suppressed them and let his hands grip her shoulders tightly, his bright eyes wide.

"Artemis! Where am I?" He asked, desperate.

"You're in a hospital, Wally," Artemis spoke slowly. _Mental_ hospital seemed like too much to spill on him. Baby steps. She guided him to the bed and gently pushed him down until he was sitting on the edge of the mattress, "But I'm going to get you out,"

"I'm not supposed to be here," His words were firm, certain, "I'm not sick. I want to go home, I can't trust them,"

The blonde nodded, "I know, I know, Wally," She kept her voice calm and steady but he still looked so frazzled that she reached out and ran a hand through his hair, petting it back so that he didn't look quite so wild. Wally gave a sigh at the action and let her continue, relaxing under her touch and reaching out to put his hands on her hips to keep himself grounded. While completely drugged Wally hadn't seemed so confused, but working through the haze seemed to have made him very lost, childish almost, "Where is home?" She asked, because she wanted to gage how well his mind was working. If the drugs were still effecting his system, even though she was fairly certain they were.

"Home," Wally's mouth twisted as he worked the word over between his teeth, "Home is…" He frowned, "Home isn't here," He decided on, "The bad guys are here,"

Artemis nodded, trying to keep him thinking, to push him to remember more. She needed him fully aware as quickly as possible. These sort of childish half-thoughts weren't going to cut it for an escape.

"Oh," Wally seemed to be putting more of his thoughts together, "I was captured by the bad guys. I messed up,"

Well it was a strange way to phrase that he'd been kidnapped but Artemis supposed it was a start, "Who are the bad guys, Wally?"

He looked surprised that she didn't know, and looked to the door, checking it, before he continued, "We fight the bad guys. We save the world. They cause trouble. Criminals. Villains,"

When he finished Artemis moved from next to him on his bed to his desk, pouring out the pills and sorting through them as she'd done the day before, "You still can't tell anyone that I'm helping you, okay?"

"I will never give in to the enemy," He reassured her, his tone so serious it was almost ridiculous in the way that he'd said it. But a glance at him told Artemis that he was entirely serious. Wally was still sitting on the bed, a frown marring his face as he stared at his hands, "I don't have my powers back yet,"

Oh she was _so_ not going there.

"Alright, take these vitamins," She ordered, reaching out to give the redhead the handful of pills she'd picked out. Once he had a hold of them she dumped the rejects into her inner pocket as she'd done before, "I'll be back again tomorrow,"

Artemis had stood and was heading towards the door when Wally called out to her. As she turned she realized that she'd forgotten their usual goodbye hug and Wally's arms were around her before she could even react, "Thank you, Artemis," He whispered, tucking his nose into her hair and kissing her temple.

She sighed into his warm hug and felt his hope spread to her. He believed in her, he believed she could do this. And as she pulled back to see his cheerful face, she believed she could do it too.

**XXX**

"Miss Crock, could I talk to you in my office for a moment,"

Artemis felt her stomach drop and her heart freeze in the same moment. She'd been on her way out of Arkham after finishing her rounds, Wally's pills still hidden in her pocket, when Hugo Strange had stopped her.

Her thoughts filled her with dread as she followed him into his spartan office. This was it. It was all over. She was certain. Maybe one of her coworkers had noticed her acting strange? Maybe someone noticed Wally was off of his medications? Maybe Wally himself had let something slip?

Artemis slipped into a wood cushioned chair and tried to keep her wits about her, she would need them if she was going to smooth talk her way out of this situation.

"Miss Crock it has come to my attention that one of your patients is prone to altercations and disruptions," Hugo was a thin man, not very intimidating on his own. However with the possible knowledge and power he held, Artemis was feeling _very_ intimidated.

"Is that so, Dr. Strange?" She responded, keeping her tone complacent and nonchalant.

"Yes," He spoke slowly, leaning forward slightly to press his chin against his interlocked fingers, "A one, Wally West, has always had outbursts in our care,"

Artemis wanted to scoff. She wanted to punch him in the _face_. Or maybe kick him in the face.

That would be satisfying.

But he was still talking, so violence would have to move to the back burner.

"However, his disobedience has only grown stronger. This is a problem that _must_ be corrected," Dr. Strange said, his voice grave.

It seemed that Artemis wasn't the one in trouble, but her clenched heart wasn't getting any better, "Of course," She agreed with him, swallowing the bile in the back of her throat.

The doctor nodded, seemingly pleased with her reaction, and shifted through some files on his desk, "We have various possible methods to work with this problem. This is why I've asked you here. As one of his caretakers, you have insight that would be beneficial in deciding which treatment he might best respond to,"

This was not good. This was bad. This was _really_ bad. Artemis knew very little about their 'extra treatment' programs, but she knew that each of them were behind locked steel doors and the patients that returned often had welts from restraints. There was absolutely _no_ way she was letting Wally disappear behind any of those doors.

"What kind of treatments are you recommending, Dr. Strange?" Artemis remained peaceful and responsive, letting her fingernails dig into her thighs to control her outrage.

Strange hummed casually as he thumbed through a few papers, picking out a few, "Solitary confinement, hydrotherapy or, of course, corporal punishment," The last seemed to be an afterthought, however the way he spoke made him sound certain that corporal punishment would have _obviously _already have been on the table. He handed the papers over on his choice treatments and let her browse them.

Artemis set the papers on her end of his desk and tucked her hands back in her lap so that he couldn't tell that they were shaking. It took all of her energy not to lash out, not to show all of the emotion she was feeling. He sat there, pleasantly, waiting for her to choose.

To choose which she wanted Wally to go through.

Solitary confinement. The file said that it involved a straightjacket and other body restraints, and leaving Wally in a small room alone 'Until the patient has become reasonable and cooperative,'

Hydrotherapy. Stated as 'prolonged immersion under a high pressure stream of water to induce corrective behavior and soothe the patient.' Well Artemis had never heard of waterboarding being stated so clinically but she wasn't dumb enough not to recognize it.

Corporal punishment. Artemis read, 'Continued strict stimulus to the patient's physical system in order to impress the repercussions of insolent behavior,'

Oh she should_ not_ have had lunch, she was far too inclined to gag at the moment.

Artemis wanted Wally subjected to _none _of these treatments. She would be far more eager to subject Hugo Strange to a few, but alas that was not going to be an option. On a whim she would be inclined to choose solitary confinement. While still horrible, it wasn't nearly as physical as the other two. But if Wally was in solitary confinement it was possible that she couldn't get to him. Couldn't get him _out_ of Arkham.

"I believe West would only cause further trouble if he was put into solitary confinement," Artemis told him, setting the file on the torture to the side.

Strange nodded, giving some sort of agreement on the matter, before waiting expectantly for her to choose again.

Choosing between waterboarding and physical torture. Man, she _really _wanted to kick this guy in the face. But she couldn't, she had to keep up appearances. So she had to work logically. Wally needed to be able to get out of Arkham himself, she couldn't carry him, and he couldn't have any obvious wounds that would mark his position as a patient.

So, waterboarding it was.

"Hydrotherapy looks promising, as one of his caretakers it is the treatment I would recommend," Artemis curled a forced smiled on her face as she handed the file on hydrotherapy back to her boss.

"Thank you for your assistance, Miss Crock. It is greatly appreciated," Dr. Strange gave her a smile in kind that had goosebumps rising on her arms, "I'll set the patient up for our next available time slot in hydrotherapy," He picked up a pen to make a note of it.

Artemis felt the bile at the back of her throat again. They had so many patients having waterboarding done that they used _appointments?_ If she could, she would just switch everything. Pull all the patients out of their rooms so that she could stuff all of the staff_ in_ them. _They_ were the crazy ones.

"If you don't mind me asking, when will that be?" She spoke up, still using her professional voice, "I like to keep up with all of my patients," Artemis added, not wanting to seem nosy.

Hugo just gave her that creepy smile again before he answered, "Saturday I believe has our next opening,"

Saturday.

Looks like she was moving up her time schedule a day.

**XXX**

Wally didn't rush to her when she entered his room the next day. Instead he was sitting on his bed, looking at the floor with empty features. Fear spilled into Artemis's heart and she quickly went to him. Had they tortured him while she was gone? Had they decided that he needed his 'treatment' sooner?

She dropped the cup of pills on his desk with a rattle and came to his side, placing a hand on his hair and another on his shoulder, searching him for injuries. Tilting his head and running a hand through his hair, Artemis determined that he seemed to be unharmed.

"What's the date?" Wally asked quietly, looking up and leaning into her palm. He looked heartbroken but his eyes were clear. The drugs seemed to have worked their way entirely out of his system.

Artemis sighed and took a seat next to him, dropping her hands gently from his face, "Its July 26th, 2014. You were kidnapped last June,"

Wally scoffed, looking to the floor again with fallen shoulders, "A year. A whole _year_," He gave a few deep breaths before he turned to look at her once more, his features grown strong and determined, "I know who I am. Everything is clear now," His muscles tensed and he balled his hands into fists, "I'm gonna get out of here,"

"I know," Artemis smirked, glad to see his spirits rising, "That's what I've been working on,"

Wally gave her a mischievous smile, "Who _are_ you, Artemis? Did the League send you?"

She frowned, "I have no idea who the League is. My father got me this job, he's not a real law-abiding citizen, and Arkham thought they could trust that I hadn't fallen far from the tree," Artemis snorted, "I didn't know what I was getting into at first, but I figured it out with your help. I guess they thought I would turn a blind eye to what's going on here. But I won't,"

Her words made Wally grin and she couldn't help but smile in return, "You don't know who the League is," He mused out loud, "That's insane. You're going to help me and you don't even know who I am," He laughed, thoroughly amused.

"You're Wally West," Artemis said simply, because honestly she had _no_ idea what he was talking about, "You were kidnapped while going to Stanford University, and you're my friend," She rushed through the last phrase but Wally still caught it. He shook his head in disbelief, still smiling.

"I can't wait to show you what you've gotten yourself into," Wally grinned, "But thank you,_ really,_ and I can handle it from here," He said, sincerely honest.

Artemis scowled, "You can handle it from here? _Really?_" The sarcasm dripping from her words, "Look I'll get you out tomorrow, I have a plan,"

"It's really not necessary, Beautiful," He assured her, "By tomorrow my superspeed should be back in working order and I'll be just fine on my own,"

Oh god, did he _still_ believe that? Had she missed a drug?

No matter, she was still getting him out, he could sort out his personal problems later.

"Look, you don't know the building layout _or _the city. There are too many guards out there who have had _plenty_ of practice subduing you. So we need to be stealthy about this. Follow my plan and then you can...run free, or whatever," Artemis waved her hand around.

Wally seemed to consider this before finally assenting with a nod, "Fine, works for me,"

"Good," She smiled, pulling out a piece of blank paper and a pen from her pocket, "Now one last thing before I pick out your vitamins," Artemis moved over to the desk and motioned for the redhead to follow her. He obeyed and took a seat at the desk like she wanted, placing himself in front of the paper, "I want you to write something that I'm going to give to Barry Allen. I don't have the money to get you out of town, so I need his help. Make it believable, so that he'll know for sure it's from you. I'll copy it into an email to him tonight," Artemis was leaning over him and she could easily see the way his body stiffened at her words.

"Uncle Barry..." He whispered, a smile gracing his face. Artemis grew a tad concerned that he was going to break down, "He's been looking for me?"

"He's only commandeered the entire police force of California," Artemis rolled her eyes.

Wally let out a hard laugh but said nothing, leaning over and writing with a grin.

It took him ten minutes to fill the whole page with chicken scratch, but he thrust the finished product at the blonde with a proud grin so Artemis tucked it away carefully. It didn't take long after that to sort out Wally's vitamins and store the other pills, it was routine at this point.

Finally, everything was squared away and Artemis had to get to her other patients.

"I'll be back tomorrow, don't make a scene while I'm gone," The blonde ordered with a smirk.

Wally stood up to come give her a warm hug, wrapping his arms around her tightly and leaning down to press a kiss to her cheek, "You be safe too, Artemis,"

"I don't need to be safe. I just need to burn this place to the ground," Artemis laughed, lingering on to the hug just a bit too long before she finally left.

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow she would get him out.

**XXX**

**[07/26/2014: 6:21PM]**

**To:** Barry Allen

**From:** Tigress Tigress807 

**Subject: **Wally West: Urgent

1 Attachment:

Dr. Allen, I have urgent news regarding your missing nephew, Wally West. By chance I have discovered his whereabouts. In order to prove to you that he's alright, since you probably wouldn't believe me otherwise I have attached a picture of him that I took the other day. I know you have no reason to trust me, but I assure you I only want to help. He is currently being held against his will, but I have a plan to get him out tomorrow (07/27/14). I'm telling you this because I have no way to send him to Central City, so I was hoping that you would come to Gotham to retrieve him once I've gotten him out. I can't disclose his location as of yet, but when he is safe in my care I will contact you. I can't currently trust the police as I believe they could be involved, so the less you know the better until I have Wally safe. This is also the reason I am withholding my real name.

I had him write to you in order to ensure your trust in me, I've copied it here:

Hey Uncle Barry!

I know that you're worried, but you don't have to anymore. I was kidnapped by the enemy, and have been incapacitated for the most part here. They kept me drugged so I couldn't use my powers and I couldn't remember who I really was. But [Tigress] found me, by accident really. I'll tell you the whole story when I see you, but the short of it is that she has no idea of the League's going-ons. She's just a bystander doing the right thing, and she's taken care of me. Oh, right, I'm supposed to convince you that its me. Okay so remember that time that Rob slept over when I was a sophomore? Okay, yes, there were a lot of those times. But THIS time you got called into work early because someone had hacked into Centrals police database. Yeah, you guessed it, that was totally us. It was an accident that we screwed up the files, we only meant to photoshop mustaches on our favorite dumbo criminals. Rob felt so bad about it that he's the one who sent you that surveillance on Savage. My hope is that you'll be happy enough to see me again that you won't get mad about that time. Also could you have Iris make those lemon bars for when I get home? I really miss those.

See you soon Uncle Barry!

Love, KF

I hope that you believe me, and Wally. Because I really do need your help. I want to get Wally out of Gotham as soon as possible, and I just don't have the funds to do that alone.

Thank you.

Tigress.

XXX

**[07/26/2014: 8:15PM]**

**To:** Tigress Tigress807 

**From:** Barry Allen

**Subject: **Re:Wally West: Urgent

Tigress, you have my help. If it weren't for your message from Wally I likely would assume you were one of his captors, but I will give you the benefit of the doubt since you're asking no more than help in getting him home. You can't understand how relieved I am to know that he's alive. You'll understand that I'm still going to act with reservations, but I'm willing to be reckless if it will get Wally back. I've already booked a flight for the first thing in the morning. I'll be in Gotham by the afternoon.

This is my cell phone number, please contact me if you need my assistance or when you have Wally: (816-040-1956)

Please bring him home safe.

Barry Allen.

**XXX**

This was it.

Artemis gave fake smiles to her coworkers while she ran through her plan repeatedly in her head. Barry Allen was likely already in Gotham somewhere, waiting for her call. Wally's disguise was in the lunchbox on her arm. The password to Jason's door was tucked under the sandwich on the boy's lunch tray. So far everything had gone according to plan. Hopefully it would stay that way.

The door clicked open and Artemis entered Wally's room with a sigh of relief. The preparation was over.

"Artemis! Finally!" Wally grinned at her as he rushed to hug her, apparently the medication had nothing to do with his affection, Artemis found that she wasn't disappointed in the slightest.

"We have half an hour before our distraction starts, we'll need to leave then," The blonde spoke, checking her watch as she set the lunchbox on Wally's desk stiffly.

"Beautiful," Wally laughed, putting a hand on her shoulder and catching her tense stare, "Relax, I'm feeling great, you've got a plan. Everything is gonna be fine,"

She wanted to shrug it off, to keep focused, but she had scrambled this escape together in a week and she was _beyond_ stressed, "I'll relax when this is over," She said, giving him a wan smile.

The redhead smirked and let go, "Fine, fine, so what's the plan?"

"You put on this disguise, and we walk out of here while everyone else is dealing with the distraction," Artemis explained, opening her lunch box and dumping the contents out on Wally's desk.

Wally wrinkled his nose at the shaggy, black haired wig, but leaned over to put it on, "So what's this incredible distraction you have?" He mused, flipping up and adjusting the scratchy wig. Artemis grabbed the cover up and stood closer so that she could dab the makeup over his freckles. Wally cringed, but complied.

"Jason at the other end of the wing will be finding the code to his door under his sandwich for lunch. He's smart, he'll know what it is and he'll waste no time bursting out of his room. He's always a hand-full and it will take a lot of staff to get him under control," She explained, pursing her lips as she finished blending the makeup on Wally cheeks, ignoring his bright green eyes watching her carefully.

"Jason…" He whispered, "Jason Todd?" His voice was hesitant and it gave Artemis pause.

"Yes, that's him," She watched in confusion as Wally paled under her fingertips, fear and disgust growing in his eyes.

"Jason's here too?" Wally's voice was tight.

His demeanour changed so suddenly that Artemis was taken aback, his determination glowing in his features.

"Artemis we _have _to get him out," He demanded.

"We'll get him out, but you're leaving first. That's the plan," She answered him cautiously. She agreed entirely, of course, _all_ of the patients had to get out of Arkham. But Artemis had no way to create a massive breakout. Wally would be the key to taking the whole place down, that was the only way she could do it.

"No," Wally pleaded, "You don't understand-"

"Yes I do," Artemis shot back, her expression fierce, "You aren't the only victim here, Wally. And I'm not going to stop when you're free from this place. But I can't do this alone. I couldn't risk taking everyone off of their medication, Wally. You're the only one who trusted me, you're the only one that _I _can trust. So you have to keep trusting me, just for a little bit longer. That's all I need," She ended softly.

Wally was silent for a moment, thinking, but finally he nodded, reaching for the fake glasses sitting on the desk and twisting them between his digits, "Of course I trust you. I just...I want to tear this place apart," He scowled.

"And we will," Artemis assured him, taking the glasses from his hands and gently placing them on his face, "We'll fucking burn this place to the ground, but we can't do that from in here," Finally Wally smiled once more and Artemis returned it, "Besides, Jason _lives_ for his escape attempts, they're his favorite part of the week. Now get dressed, we only have fifteen minutes left," She shoved the orderly scrubs she'd snatched into his chest.

"Yes, Ma'am," He laughed, turning to head to the bathroom where he could change.

Artemis mostly stared at her watch as he finished with the rest of his disguise. She went over where her car was parked, the directions to the motel. Who was on security detail at the entrance to the wing. She whispered Barry's phone number to herself, for she'd memorized it, just in case.

"Ta-da!" Wally sauntered out of the bathroom with his hands thrown to the side, showing off his transformation. He really looked like a different person, but if anyone looked too closely they could probably tell by his vibrant eyes and his gaunt features. She really needed to take him to a buffet when they got out.

"You're such a dork," Artemis snorted, "Ready?"

"I am _so_ ready," He grinned, his body nearly shaking with pent up excitement.

"Is there...anything you want to take with you?" She asked cautiously, knowing that he stored a few trinkets and writings underneath this mattress.

"No," Wally gave her a fond grin, "The only thing I want to remember from here is coming with me,"

Oh, it was _so_ not the time for her to be blushing, they had an asylum to break out of! She turned to the door to hide her dusted cheeks.

"It's time to go, follow my lead. And don't make eye contact with anyone, act purposeful, not nervous. Don't talk, let me do any talking," Artemis numbered off her order on her fingers, Wally nodded obediently, rocking on the balls of his feet.

"And if there's any fighting, let me do it," He cut in, his tone serious once more.

Artemis rolled her eyes, "You_ wish_, now let's get out of here,"

They left his room with little difficulty, no one nearby gave them a second glance. Artemis followed her protocol and checked that the door was locked behind her, as if Wally was still inside. She, was, however, a bit surprised that as they started down the hallway Wally didn't seem the least bit nervous as he walked next to her, just a half a step behind, letting her lead the way.

In fact, he seemed far too _happy_. His steps were bouncing and he was having trouble keeping a smile off of his face. It was out of the ordinary, Arkham didn't have a positive atmosphere. As they reached the end of the first hallway Artemis gave a mean glare to the redhead, making him hitch a step. But it seemed to do the trick, he gave her a sheepish smile as he toned it down. The smile turned into a blank slate and his gait relaxed. It was enough.

Artemis knew the way out of Arkham by heart, she didn't even have to think about her steps as her feet lead her to the exit. Wally was strolling along beside her, doing his best to seem insignificant, but his eyes were curious and wandering. Artemis hoped no one noticed.

They came to the junction between the wings and the entrance, passing the nursing station where Artemis could hear the alarms going off. It seemed Jason had found her gift on time. There were a few orderlies running down the second B wing hallway, towards Jason's room, and a few carrying another one _away_ from it with what appeared to be a broken leg.

Wally seemed amused and curious, so Artemis pinched his elbow to keep him on track. The doors to the parking lot were in sight, just down the hallway they'd turned into. A couple of security guards ran past them in a rush, likely also heading to help catch Jason as well. Artemis couldn't help but smirk. The more the merrier, the brat had always told her. It was even listed in his file, 'Patient's favorite activities: Attacking the staff'.

It was the home stretch, Artemis could feel her heartbeat pulse under her skin from how nervous she was. If they were caught, it wouldn't only be Wally who would be locked back up. And she couldn't save anyone if she were captured as well.

Wally was the opposite, the closer they got the more his attitude shifted back into a positive glow. Did he have no way to contain his dumb enthusiasm?

As they reached the security station Artemis saw that the Jason distraction worked just as she had hoped. Instead of the usual four or five security guards lingering around, there was only two. Of the two guards, only one was paying attention, the other arguing with someone loudly over the phone. Both were behind a large glass panel of sliding windows, sitting at the counter behind them.

Artemis leaned towards Wally before they were in hearing distance, still keeping up a leisurely pace, "Just walk out, wait for me next to the tree in the middle of the lot," He nodded and Artemis tried not to hold her breath as she walked up to the guard on duty. She stood as close as she could to the open window of the guard station, hoping to block the man's view of Wally as the redhead kept walking, "Artemis Crock, I'm clocking out," She told the man.

The guard nodded, taking the ID card she offered him so that he could scan it and clock her out of the system for the day.

"Hey!" The second guard shouted, making Artemis jump, "Everyone has to sign in or out!" She glanced over in stilted fear, and sure enough, the hot-tempered man was pointing right at Wally, who looked shell-shocked, standing within sprinting distance of the front doors, "Wait," The guard continued, "Don't I know you?" He frowned sharply. Artemis took a second glance and felt her stomach twist in her gut. He was one of the guards often called upon to help contain Wally during his outbursts. Wally seemed to recognize him as well, and he wasn't doing a good job of hiding the anger he felt towards the guard.

_No_. She'd gotten too far to let this fall apart. She'd promised Wally that she'd get him out. She told Barry that his nephew would be free. Artemis didn't come this far to let Wally's freedom be stripped from him again.

"Wally! Run!" Artemis yelled at him, just as she saw the guard finally come to a realization. She meant to follow him, but the man sitting at the counter in front of her reacted too quickly, reaching forward to grab her arm in a bruising grip through the open window while the second guard grabbed the walkie talkie on his shoulder.

"We have a patient escaped at station B! I repeat! A patient escaped at station B! Stop right there!" It took the large man only moments to vault over the counter and through another open sliding window.

"Artemis!" Wally yelled, his wig falling off as he ran to help her, the guard skidding across the linoleum to follow the redhead in his new direction.

"No! Wally get out of here!" Artemis snarled, using her free hand to punch the man gripping her across the jaw. Wally looked momentarily surprised at her actions but it didn't last as the other guard finally caught up to him, tackling the redhead to the ground with a growl. With her arm free, Artemis wasted no time rushing to the two grippling men. Without the drugs fogging his mind, Wally was lightning fast with his reflexes, pushing the guard off of him as Artemis came over to kick him in the ribs, throwing him to the side, "I told you to run!" She hissed, hoisting Wally up when he reached out.

"Like hell I'd leave you behind," He shot back, not letting go of the grip he had on her hand.

"Stop!" They were cut from their argument as more security guards turned into the hallway, shouting at them.

"We have to get to my car, follow me," Artemis ordered, tugging on him. Wally didn't move and Artemis turned to yell at him.

"I've got a faster way," He decided, giving the blonde a mischievous smirk before he lifted her into his arms, shifting his hold minutely before whispering in her ear, "Hold on tight, Beautiful,"

And then everything became a blur.

XXX

**Its not over yet! I've still got another chapter and an epilogue!**

**Please review and let me know what you think!**

**_Love,_ Veg**


	4. Sane

**The last chapter before the epilogue! Thank you so much for all of the reviews, I hope you enjoy this!**

**XXX**

There was wind howling in her ears and Artemis had to close her eyes to keep them from tearing. All she knew was that she was still in Wally's arms, latched to his shirt with a death grip, her mind whirling.

What was going on?

And then abruptly everything stopped, skidding to a stop as the world came back into view.

"Whoa!" Wally exclaimed, holding Artemis tighter as he lost momentum, "Sorry, I can't stop on a dime like my uncle can," He was breathing heavy, exhausted, but didn't lose his grip on the blonde.

Artemis was having trouble processing what had just occurred, taking in the grody alleyway they were in with wide grey eyes as her hands still gripped Wally's shirt.

"Artemis? Hey, you get whiplash?" He asked, concern obvious in his voice.

The blonde shook her head and pushed against his chest, squirming until he let go of her legs but still keeping a hand around her waist to steady her, "What? What just happened?" She asked, her voice carrying a hard edge.

"I'm sorry I didn't have much time to warn you, but the guards were coming so I had to get us out of there," He frowned and looked around at the alley they were in, "I only made it a few blocks, though, I really need some fuel," He lamented, still trying to catch his breath.

"Did you-" Artemis blabbed, looking up to eye the redhead, "Did you _run_ us here?"

"Yes?" Wally answered slowly, a bit worried about how tense Artemis's muscles were under his touch, his arms still steadying her.

"Superspeed," She muttered under her breath, her grey eyes darting across his form in confusion, "That's _real_?!"

There was silence from both of them for a moment as Wally gaped at her, "Oh Einstein...You never actually believed me," He breathed in awe.

Artemis pushed away from him, finally standing on her own and glaring at him, "And why should I have? The idea that its actually possible...it's-" She cut off.

"Insane?" He offered with a grin. The blonde responded with a huff of frustration and Wally couldn't hold it back any longer. He started laughing, loudly, bending over and gathering a few tears in his eyes.

Artemis socked him in the arm.

"Hey!" Wally retorted indignantly, rubbing at his new wound, "What was that for?"

"For laughing at me!" She bristled.

The redhead gave her another grin, "I'm not laughing _at _you. I'm laughing because its ridiculous,"

"What is?" Artemis questioned, still defensive.

Wally took a few deep breaths, containing his remaining laughter before continuing, "All this time, breaking me out of a mental hospital, you thought I was insane the _whole _time," He gave a great sigh and smiled at her, his eyes bright, "You're really something, Artemis,"

"Well you really sounded crazy," She shot back, "But I couldn't just leave you there, crazy or not,"

"I'll never be able to make this up to you," He smiled, genuine happiness glowing in his eyes, "But I know where to start,"

Wally zipped up to her in the span of a blink, and then suddenly he was kissing her.

Artemis stood stock-still as her mind registered what was happening, the pressure on her lips and the hand cupping her jaw. Her first instinct was to punch him again, but she squashed it down. Because he felt, nice. First he was just the patient in room B03, and over time he became Wally, her friend. He might have been a bit unhinged but he was still one of her closest friends. And then he was Wallace West, the victim, and their friendship became an instrument of his freedom.

But now he was free, they were both free from that place. And he was just Wally again. Her attractive, affectionate friend who turned out was _not_ insane after all. So Artemis stopped distancing herself and leaned into him.

He hummed against her lips when she kissed him back, and Artemis could feel him smile as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Wally pulled back after a moment, pressing firm kisses across the edge of her mouth, following her jawline.

"I've wanted to do this for a long time," Wally mumbled, his smile against her skin.

Artemis snorted and pulled him closer, detaching her jaw from his lips to press her face into his chest, wrapping her arms around him, "I wouldn't have let you until now,"

His arms circled her and she could feel his chest rumble with a laugh, "Cause I was crazy, right?"

"Mmm, mostly because you're a dork," Artemis smirked, laughing when he pinched her side.

They both grew quiet and Artemis let herself relax in the fact that Wally was finally free. There would be no more worrying if she'd be able to get him out of Arkham, worrying that her plan wouldn't work. They'd made it, and it was finally over.

Wally lost himself in the moment too, holding her tighter and looking to the clear blue sky, breathing in the fresh air, "It feels like forever since I've been outside," He spoke quietly, "And it felt so good to run, I can't wait to do it again,"

"Well," Artemis started, drawing back to meet his gaze, "Now is a good time, I have a place for us to stay low and meet up with Barry,"

The redhead straightened up immediately, a beaming smile on his face, "Barry's here?"

He looked so much like an excited puppy that Artemis couldn't help but laugh at how cute his expression was, "Yeah, lets get to the motel and then I'll call him and tell him to meet us there,"

"Then let's go! What are we waiting for?" Wally grinned, scooping up the blonde into his arms, "I'll go slower this time, just tell me where to go,"

"This carrying me better not become a thing," Artemis warned, flicking him in the chest playfully.

"Aw, you'll learn to love it, I'm sure," He chuckled, taking off at a jog.

"You're right, I'm in the perfect position to punch you in the face," She smirked.

"I'll remember that," Wally laughed, "Now which way do we go?"

**XXX**

"No, absolutely not," Artemis swatted Wally away from the motel room window where he was attempting to open the blinds.

"Is this seriously the best place you could get? I can literally smell the diseases in here," He joked, returning to the pacing that he'd done for the last fifteen minutes. It was true, the room was all shag carpet that had been vacuumed maybe once since the seventies, light fixtures with only half the number of working light bulbs, and stains on the bedspread that neither of them would dare touch.

Artemis crossed her arms with a huff, "Well, sor-ry crazy boy but I didn't have a lot of money to spare. You're lucky that I had enough cash on hand to get you that meal from next door," She pointed to the trash cans where the remains of a fast food meal were resting, courtesy of the human garbage disposal Wally West.

"I told you! My superspeed gives me a wicked high metabolism," He whined.

"I heard you the third time," She smirked, "I guess it explains why you're so scrawny- No! Minibars are expensive and I don't trust anything in that,"

Wally skulked away from the mini fridge and threw himself to the floor in a groan, spreading out his legs and leaning back on his arms, "I'm sorry," He grumbled, "I'm just so _frustrated_, I've probably missed _so much._ I can't even believe that I'm _free_,"

The blonde gave a sigh and walked over to sit down in front of him, seating herself cross-legged between his open feet, "I'd say that I understand, but I don't. However, Barry is on his way here and I'm sure he'll waste no time helping you get yourself back together," She gave him a hesitant smile, "Soon, you'll be out of Gotham and you'll be able to forget all about Arkham,"

"I don't want to forget _everything_," He murmured, keeping his eyes locked on her, "And what are you going to do now? I can run off to a different city, I have a whole nother life. What about you?" The redhead frowned, pushing off of his hands to lean towards her.

That gave her pause. Honestly, Artemis hadn't thought that far ahead. Her entire plan had been for Wally's escape. For the takedown of Arkham. She didn't even consider what she would do to protect herself after it was gone. Surely she had just pissed of a very large collaboration of people, and would continue to do so. Even her relation to her father wouldn't save her from the catastrophe she'd just set in motion. Not to mention she was now out of a job.

"I'll handle it," Was what she grit out. Because it was what she always did, she handled it, although usually it was her father causing the problem. Wally didn't look convinced, but it wasn't his problem, so she changed the subject, "Will you tell me about your superspeed?"

It seemed to work, Wally straightened and gave her a proud smile, "Everything I told you in Arkham was the truth. I can run at the speed of sound. I got my powers when I was fifteen, blew myself up and all that jazz," He snickered.

"Why?" Artemis was flabbergasted, "How could a fifteen year old kid figure out how to do that?"

"Well, Uncle Barry figured it out first,_ almost _on accident," He mused, "He knew what he was doing, he just didn't plan on actually testing it on himself yet. There was a storm and lightning hit his lab, doing the job for him. I stole the notes he had on the experiment and recreated it for myself," Wally grinned.

Artemis was still fighting with the urge to think he was actually insane, but she'd witnessed his abilities first hand, as unbelievable as they were, "So back to_ why_?" She pressed. Because, _yes _they were cool powers, but really why did he want them so bad?

"Well I use them with...I use them…" Wally frowned, continuing to trail off with his words, "You know, I'm not really allowed to tell you,"

"Are you serious?" The blonde deadpanned, "I already know that you have a superpower," She pointed out.

Wally cringed, "Okay, but that was necessary,"

She rose an eyebrow at him.

"Aw, come on Beautiful," He gave a laugh, scooting forward and reaching out and cupping her cheeks with his hands. Artemis gave him very little resistance as he leaned over to give her a peck on the lips, but continued smirking at him the whole time.

"You know, I actually believed for a while that you wouldn't be as affectionate when you were off the drugs," Artemis smirked, relaxing as Wally pulled her ponytail around her neck to play with the long hair.

"No way," He snorted, absently plaiting her hair, "You're stuck with me the way I am, Babe,"

"The _horror,"_

Wally opened his mouth to defend himself when abruptly there was a knock on the door. The redhead was up and rushing to it before Artemis could even blink.

"Wallace!" She hissed, stopping him in his tracks as she stood up. He had one hand reaching for the doorknob and his face turned towards hers in confusion, "We have to check that it's Barry _before _we open the door. Arkham is probably searching the whole city for you. We are _not _going to make it easier for them," Artemis said slowly, with a pointed glare.

Wally gave a mighty groan but stepped back so that Artemis could unlock the deadbolt and peek the door open until the chain halted it. He stayed right behind her, his hands on her hips as he got as close as he could without poking his head into view.

"Yes?" Artemis questioned. A tall, blonde man was standing nervously at the door, bags under his eyes and an untucked shirt under a sweater vest. It certainly looked like Barry Allen to her.

"Are you Tigress?" The man asked, tilting his head to try and look into the room.

"I am," She kept her voice even, trying to act cool while Wally was bouncing on his toes behind her.

"I'm Barry Allen, I'm here for Wally," Barry's voice nearly broke as he spoke and Artemis felt for him.

"It's him, let him in!" Wally spoke up excitedly, nearly pressing her entirely into the door.

"Wally?" Barry straightened, his face hopeful.

"Artemis, let him in!" The redhead hustled her, trying to reach around her to unlock the door himself.

"Oh my god, Wally, I can't do anything with you in my face like that," She shot back, slapping at his hands, "Back up, you space invader,"

Wally finally relented and Artemis closed the door enough to undo the chain, opening it again so that Barry could come in, "Come on inside, Dr. Allen - Wally back _up_," She ordered with a laugh. Barry stepped into the motel room a bit cautiously, but the second he was in range Wally launched into his arms.

"Uncle Barry!" Wally cried, nearly knocking the man over in the hug. Artemis laughed and locked the door while the two hugged it out.

"Wally?" Barry breathed, pulling himself out of the hug to look at the redhead properly, tears gathered in the corners of his eyes, "You're here, you're alright?" He smiled, patting his nephews cheeks and ruffling his hair.

"Of course I am!" Wally beamed, clenching onto Barry's forearms with a death grip, "I'm always alright," His eyes were squinting with the force of his smile but Artemis could see the wetness in Wally's eyes as well.

His words seemed to convince Barry and the man finally returned Wally's crushing hug, "We _never_ stopped looking for you, I knew you were out there somewhere," Barry told him firmly. Wally nodded mutely into his shoulder.

Artemis smiled at the scene but took a step back, not wanting to intrude on their moment. She couldn't even imagine what it must have been like for either of them, the uncertainly, the worry, the pain. Watching them come to tears from happiness only reaffirmed her belief that she'd done the right thing. That no matter what trouble this brought her, it was worth it.

Wally pulled away from the hug first, still keeping his hand on Barry's arm as he grinned at large, "Barry you have to meet Artemis!" He exclaimed, gesturing for said blonde to join them. Artemis hesitantly stepped forward until she was close enough for Wally to sling his arm over her shoulder, "She's the one who got me out, I never would have gotten out of there without her help,"

"Thank you," Barry told her, his voice thick with emotion as he reached out to shake her hand, "Thank you for helping him," He had a firm grip and Artemis felt like she was drowning in the smiles from the two of them, still feeling as though she was intruding on a moment, "But, where _were_ you?" Barry asked after their handshake ended, focusing on his nephew once more.

"Eh, well, I was kinda drugged like, the whole time," Wally shrugged, "But it was a mental hospital, wasn't it Artemis?" He threw his question to the blonde.

"Arkham Mental Hospital," She started, explaining to the both of them, "Or, it was supposed to be. I started working there about four months ago, but it took me a while to even realize that there was something _very_ wrong. It was Wally that really convinced me to look into things," Artemis looked to the redhead, "You'd write out these chemical equations _all day_. But I recognized one as one of the equations used on the particle accelerator,"

"You finished the particle accelerator?" Wally cut in excitedly.

"Wally, really," Barry scolded, his features fierce as he held onto every word of Wally's capture, "I want to hear the rest of this,"

"But you finished it?" The redhead continued grinning.

"Yes. Now don't interrupt me you numskull," Artemis huffed, flicking the hand that rested on her shoulder.

Wally laughed, "Alright, alright," Barry managed a weak smile at the two but kept silent as Artemis picked back up where she left off.

"I took the equations to Adam Strange, who was in town at my college. Dr. Strange gave me your name," She nodded to Barry, "And Wikipedia lead me to Wallace West, your missing nephew,"

"So then she turned into a super-spy and snuck me out of Arkham like a ninja," Wally took over, making Barry snort with a laugh as Artemis swatted him again. Wally seemed pleased that he'd managed to make light of the situation, however, not letting Barry linger on what he'd been through at Arkham.

"What did I say about interrupting me?" Artemis scowled playfully, catching on to Wally's goal of making Barry relax.

"That my version of this story is way more exciting," He answered without missing a beat.

"Only because you were drugged half the time," Artemis rolled her eyes, turning to Barry for help, "Is he like this all the time? Or is he still drugged?"

Barry smirked, "No, this is normal," Artemis gave a long-suffering sigh.

"And when we made our escape, Artemis punched a guard in the _face_," Wally continued.

"Jason," Artemis blurted out, the story of their escape reminding her that the job wasn't done, "We have to call the police now, before Arkham has the chance to move any of their so-called patients,"

Wally had quieted at Jason's name, but caught Artemis's hand as she pulled her phone and it's pulled-out battery out of her pocket, "We can't call the police" He told her sternly.

"We couldn't before," Artemis clarified, "I'm sure Arkham has their hands in the police force, no one would have listened to me, but they can't ignore you. They wouldn't be able to ignore it if _you_ told them,"

The redhead was still holding her hand, but instead of arguing, turned to Barry instead, "Is backup nearby?" He asked, his tone serious.

"Yes, all of the northeast sector members are in town, I called them in," Barry answered immediately, his voice taking a professional edge to it.

"What are you two talking about?" Artemis snapped, "We have to get everyone else out, _soon_,"

"That's _exactly_ what we're gonna do," Wally smirked.

"She really doesn't know?" Barry asked, and his eyebrows rose in disbelief as he eyed the blonde girl.

"Nope," The redhead grinned, squeezing Artemis to his side.

"I know about the superspeed," The blonde interjected, wanting not to feel left out, "Although I didn't believe it until I saw it today,"

"Can we tell her, Uncle Barry?" Wally pleaded.

"I'm surprised you haven't told her already," Barry snorted, "But I suppose so, because either she's actually a crazy reckless do-gooder who's really clueless, or she's a spy who knows about it already,"

"I'll take clueless for five hundred," She spoke up, making Wally snicker.

Barry took a breath and nodded, acquiescing, "Artemis, Wally and I are in a group of people who call themselves the League. We work under the radar of the media and the government in order to fight the bad people who do the same. Most of us have superpowers, like Wally and I have super speed, but there are some who don't," He explained, taking long pauses to let Artemis soak it in, "We take down those who escape the law. Some because of loopholes, some because of cunning, some because of the superpowered abilities that let them avoid the police in the first place,"

Artemis thought for a moment before she spoke, "So, the people who kidnapped Wally…"

"They're likely to be one of our enemies," Barry affirmed, his anger arising as he thought of Wally's imprisonment.

"But how come this is a secret? How does the world not know about superpowers? That they're real," She asked, not understanding how such things could be kept hidden.

"The world isn't ready to learn about them. The League handles a certain level of damage control, and most of our enemies are smart enough to know that they'll get away with more if no one knows to guard themselves from people with unusual abilities,"

"Yeah, I for one am not sharing my super speed with the world unless I know that I'm not going to be experimented on," Wally added, biting his tongue when Barry cringed, his words coming too close to what had already occurred.

Artemis guessed that it made sense, the bad guys wanted to hide their powers and the League didn't want to be the ones to open themselves to the vulnerability of the unforgiving media and constricting government.

"So...," She started, "How do I join the League?"

Barry looked surprised by her question but Wally let out a laugh and pressed her closer to his side, "Honestly Artemis, I thought you might be good for us, but I thought I'd have to bug you about it. I never figured you would _ask_ to join us so quickly,"

The blonde bristled, "What, like breaking you out of a mental hospital wasn't convincing enough for you that I want to do the right thing?"

"I can't wait to train you," The redhead grinned, "You'll be fun to spar with,"

"I'll kick your ass," Artemis told him decisively, only making him smile wider and face his uncle.

"Isn't she great, Uncle Barry?" He grinned.

"I _am_ impressed that she managed to break you out of an enemy facility without even knowing that it was one," Barry chuckled.

"Well I did work there," Artemis pointed out.

"Yeah but I guess you're fired now, huh," Wally mused without a hint of disappointment.

"Oh, I am most _definitely_ fired," She answered, as seriously as she could muster while a laugh bubbled at her lips

The laughter in the room was cut off when Barry's phone audibly buzzed in his pocket.

"Ah, that's probably Bruce," Barry explained, taking out the device to check it, "Wally and I should probably go and meet up with the other League members here, we need to storm Arkham as soon as possible," He met Artemis's curious stare, "We'll talk about a membership after this is over, alright firecracker?"

The blonde smiled, "That sounds great,"

"Wally, I'll be outside. I need to call Bruce, meet me out there when you're ready," Barry said, and the redhead didn't miss the mischievous smirk the man threw the two of them. The man had picked up on their strange relationship already, oh she hoped that wouldn't come with teasing.

Artemis turned to face Wally as the door closed behind Barry, "Are you sure that you're up to fighting again today? You're pretty out of shape," She pointed out.

Wally shrugged, pursing his lips, "I might not be allowed to go because of that, but it'll still be good to see everyone again," His smile returned as he slung his arms around her waist.

"I will see you again, won't I?" She asked, "You won't just disappear back to Central City or wherever?" Because as much as she wanted to believe it, the whole day had felt like a dream. Artemis was worried that she'd wake up the next day, jobless, and watching the news talk about Arkham falling apart. That she'd work to put her life back together and never hear about incredible things like a league of superpowered people and a super fast Wally West ever again.

"I can run at the speed of sound," Wally smiled, "Distance won't ever be a problem for me, Beautiful,"

"I'll be sure to remember that if I don't hear from you," She smirked.

"You won't have to worry about that," He told her, adjusting his arms and pulling her flush against him, "I hereby declare myself your training instructor, and I require daily training, you know," He nodded sagely.

"You are such a dork," Artemis snorted, snaking her hands up to knot her fingers in his wild red hair, "And I am _so _going to kick your ass in training,"

"Yeah, yeah," He smiled, glancing to the door and knowing that he was needed with Barry, "Hey, you be careful, okay? We'll take Arkham down but that doesn't mean that there won't still be people angry with you for what you've done," Wally kept his gaze steady, wanting her to know that he was serious.

"I can take care of myself, you're well aware of that," Artemis responded with a smirk, "Now go kick Hugo Strange in the face for me, will you?"

Wally chuckled, leaning down to catch Artemis's lips with his own, "Will do, Babe," He whispered against her, his open lips giving Artemis access to slip her tongue into his mouth to trace the curve of his teeth. She pressed into him, scraping her nails against his scalp as he tightened his arms around her waist.

Their lip-lock lasted until Wally ran out of breath, releasing Artemis's bottom lip from the hold his teeth had on it and leaning their foreheads together.

"I'll see you soon," Artemis whispered her promise, tracing her words into the sensitive skin of his neck and making him hum under her touch.

"You certainly will," Wally breathed back, sealing the vow.

**XXX**

**THIS IS NOT THE END. The epilogue will be posted in a day or two!**

**I hope all of you have enjoyed this, though. I've worked pretty hard on this and its good to know that my work is being appreciated. **

**So please leave a review and let me know what you think!**

**_Love,_ Veg**


	5. Epilogue

**This is the epilogue! I'm so happy that all of you have enjoyed this so much and I'm so glad to have another finished Spitfire work out for everyone to read. Here you all go!**

**XXX**

"Wally! We got a call from Dick!" Artemis called out, padding across the floor of their Palo Alto apartment, Nelson trailing happily on her heels.

"Not today!" The redhead groaned, sinking into the kitchen chair he'd been occupying for the afternoon, "I've got a physics test tomorrow," He pouted.

Artemis laughed lightly as she reached him, leaning down to wrap her arms around his shoulders, "It shouldn't be _that_ hard. You break the sound barrier in your sneakers, I thought physics was an old pal," She poked fun. Wally gave a humourless laugh and picked her hand up from his chest to dot it with kisses.

"I'm _still_ trying to catch up, Babe," He mused, his free hand poking at the pencil on his textbook, "It's no fair, it's easier to transfer to Stanford than it is to disappear for a year. You have it easy,"

"Then _you _can go to my Arabic and Mandarin lectures Monday. Now come on, you've been slouching over that book all day, I think you could use a break," Artemis pointed out, pressing a kiss to Wally's cheek before pulling away, feeling his eyes on her as she strolled to the bedroom, "But stay or not, I'll be heading out soon, so you should decide,"

"Alone?" Wally huffed, rising from his chair and stretching his back before he followed his blonde girlfriend, "Babe you're still green at this, you shouldn't take solo missions," He said, stepping into the bedroom where Artemis was changing into her dark green stealth suit.

"If that's a tease at my costume I'm afraid I'll have to punch you in the face," Artemis laughed, pulling her hair out of the way as Wally came over to zip her up. He made sure none of her long blonde hair caught in the zipper and kissed the back of her neck for good measure, "And I've been shooting for over a year and a half now, Oliver says that I'm a pro," She argued, tugging her bow out of the closet to inspect it.

"I'm not doubting your skill, Babe," Wally laughed, struggling with his sweatpants that had tangled in his socks, "I know very well the taste of the floor from our sparring matches,"

His works earned him a peck on the lips and assistance with digging his own stealth suit out of the back of the closet, "This should only take a couple hours at most. Dick sent it to us because its in our area," Artemis explained, returning to making adjustments on her gear.

"We should get ice cream afterwards," He suggested, kneeling down to scratch Nelson's ears as the pitbull had fetched the redhead's goggles.

Artemis hummed in thought, "Frozen yogurt," She bargained.

"Deal," Wally laughed, letting the blonde zip him into his suit.

He turned around, double checking that they both had all of the necessary equipment before they left, and Artemis felt her heart swell with happiness as he checked her over, pulling on the kevlar with scrutinizing eyes.

It had been two years since she'd broken Wally out of Arkham. Two years since the League stormed the place and rescued all of the other heroes that had been hidden there. Tula still thanked her for it, Jason still called her with names, locations, and a meeting time to take down the Arkham staff that had gotten away that day. The League had welcomed her with open arms and rigorous training. And she loved every minute of it.

Of course, she never would have believed that she would have ended up with the life she had found. Working with a group of superheroes to help keep the balance of justice in the world. Going to Stanford on a scholarship from Bruce Wayne, billionaire and secret League member. Living with the man she'd rescued because it was the right thing to do, a man with a heart as big as his endless stomach and feet as fast sound.

It was, to say the least, _insane_, but she wouldn't give it up for anything.

"I love you, Wally," Artemis told him, catching him off guard from his focus on stuffing his pockets with protein bars. He grinned at her, a blinding, ear splitting grin that made her heart melt. It took him only a second to zip back to her side, catching her lips in a sweet kiss. She pressed back with a smile, raising her arms to slide around his neck as his snuck around her waist.

Wally pulled back to press a few kisses across her cheekbones, still tasting her smile as their eyes met, "I love you too, Artemis,"

After all, he'd have to be crazy not to.

**XXX**

**THE END. **

**Thank you all so much for your wonderful reviews and love! It really keeps me inspired to know that my work is appreciated. **

**Also keep a look out, I'm far from being done with spitfire and I have lots of ideas and outlines floating around in my Google Docs. It may be a while but I'll still be writing!**

**Thank you for reading!**

**_Love_, Veg**


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